SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (IRN) — It was a down month for Illinois casinos in June, as their combined revenue dropped nearly 4% from the previous month.
According to the Illinois Gaming Board, the state’s 15 casinos generated just over $138 million in June, with Rivers Casino in Des Plaines leading the way with nearly $44 million.
Revenues were up more than 13% compared to June of last year. Much of that improvement can be attributed to the fact that two new venues have opened since then.
“The interesting thing that we saw was the larger casinos, Rivers casino, Grand Victoria in Elgin, they did less well, and it was the smaller casinos that picked up the slack,” said Dan Michalski, news editor with Casinos.com.
American Place in Waukegan saw its revenue jump 33% to $8.8 million in June, while the Golden Nugget Danville was up an impressive 52% to $3.2 million.
It was a down month for Bally’s in Chicago. So far this year, Bally’s has generated nearly $7 million in tax revenue for the city. That is nowhere near the $35 million that Mayor Brandon Johnson budgeted for this year.
Rivers is still attracting the most patronage of any casino in Illinois, bringing in over 255,000 visitors for the month.
Michalski said with talk of Illinois lawmakers legalizing online gambling, casinos will have to continually come up with ways to draw people in.
“Land-based casinos have to be on their game,” said Michalski. “They have to have a good marketing strategy. They have to be able to offer their customers an experience that goes beyond just pressing buttons on a slot machine.”
Overall, Illinois casinos generated just over $28 million in taxes for the state in June, along with $8.6 million in local taxes.
By KEVIN BESSLER for the Illinois Radio Network
